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I've been studying your varieties of knives for a couple for days nowand I must admit I'm a bit overwhelmed and hoping you may provide abit more information and insights that may help me as I'm making up mymind.

I am left handed so I think I'm limited to a dual bevel or 50/50ground edges in the knife steel I'm most interested in, which is thoseknives made of 100% Aogami Super Steel knives. I've owned and usedless expensive German style carbon steel knives for years, prefertheir ease of sharpening and edge retention, so knives that are cladin stainless steel or other layered steel isn't something I'm thatinterested in considering.

Keeping my handedness and metal preference in mind, and excluding yourcustom or higher end knives that unfortunately are out of my pricerange, I think you offer just two knife brands I may choose from,either the Moritaka Supreme series or the Takeda AS line. However,before making a decision I wish to make certain I'm not overlookingany other brand you may currently offer or will soon offer that meetsthese preferences.

Also, since the knives I'll be considering will be the first Japaneseknives I've ever purchased, I wish to confirm whether or not theirsteel runs the entire length of their handles. And, can you provideany assurance that since the handles aren't secured by rivets asGerman style knife handles are they're still durable and will providea lifetime of use.

If there may be anything else you think I should be considering, theplease feel free to dive in as I'm interested in your expertise andopen to suggestions.

If you're going to get a good Gyuto, are left handed and want aogami super steel I think you owe it to yourself to get one of Shosui Takeda's knives. They're great knives. Later if you want a petty or nakiri you could try a Moritaka. They're both good brands but Takeda gyutos are special. Hard thin and tall are a good combination for a knife and Shosui delivers.

I'll second Mark's recommendation of a Takeda, but want to let you know that neither the Takeda nor the Moritaka are "100% Aogami Super Steel knives", but are a core of AS forge welded between two layers of soft iron. To my knowledge, no Japanese bladesmith makes a monosteel aogami super knife. Masamoto and Konosuke sell monosteel shirogami (white paper) wa-gyutos, and Mizuno sells the Akitada Honyaki series in either shirogami or aogami, but there just are no monosteel aogami super knives to be had.

I'll also attempt to answer your question concerning the construction and method of attachment for traditional Japanese wa-handles by referrring you to a YouTube video of the replacement of a handle:

The handles on some "wa" style knives are very cheap wood and one could reasonably expect to have to replace them at some point in your lifetime. Murray Carter's SFGZ standard handles come to mind.....picture 2x4 material.

Other "wa" style handles like those on Takeda's knives, as well as many others, are much denser wood and should reasonably last anyone a lifetime with normal use.

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